And then there were eight.
This week, you have the opportunity to vote on four “finals matches”—one for each of our regions—and they are almost all certainly matches that will go down to the wire. With the exception of Fairy Tail, each of the elite eight competitors made quick work of their opponents in the previous round, so it really is heavyweights against heavyweights here. The most intriguing match may be the one in the “Shounen/Popular” region, with perhaps the two strongest competitors in the entire tournament going head to head, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood versus My Hero Academia.
Here are a few other thoughts about the last round, followed by voting for our quarterfinals!
- Our Cinderellas are all gone? Well, not exactly. Sixth seed Toradora has had a remarkable run, and fifth seed Cowboy Bebop has demonstrated that it still has legs. Our readers still remember the classics, I guess. Bang!
- Does Fullmetal’s demolishing of Attack on Titan say more about the former or the latter? I think we’ll find out this round when FMAB goes against BNHA. If I had to guess, FMAB is going to win this round again, and the tournament as a whole. The power of alchemy is just too strong.
- Violet Evergarden has probably had the easiest route so far, though they meet a powerhouse in Fairy Tail this week. If it makes the semifinals, I would say that either that anime or One Punch Man has had it easiest. FMAB has had the hardest route, though you wouldn’t be able to tell by how thoroughly its trashed the competition.
- Unlike round one, voters across platforms voted similarly for all the sweet sixteen matches, with just a couple notable exceptions: Twitter liked Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai far more than Violet Evergarden, and Rurouni Kenshin pulled a slight victory over Toradora on Facebook, though it got thoroughly trashed by Taiga on Instagram.
- Speaking of Taiga, you could also see this round as notable characters going up against each other rather than series: Ed v. Deku, Saitama v. Spike, Kaori v. Taiga, and Natsu v. Violet.
- Edward is leading the bracket challenge but Tommy is just behind, with Alan in striking distance. Good luck, gentlemen!
Below are the polls for round three. Voting will also be open on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, so make sure to check them out and follow us there as well.
Shounen / Popular Finals
Critical Darlings Finals
Staff Favorites Finals
2018 Anime Finals
